Just wanted to say HI!
Hoping for an early spring.
Lambs start arriving in March.
Get well soon Zuzu.

Funny, JD, because I was just discussing that with Thalia today -- the hideous notion that I might have to start wearing pants at the age of 73! I hate the way they look on women, especially women as short as I am. She suggested overalls instead. I can just throw them on over my clothes when I go outside and then take them off by the back door. I'll see if I can find some in nice paisley prints.

Yes, I do know about taking the full course of antibiotics, and I'm also eating lots of yogurt and taking a probiotic at the same time so I won't get thrush again.

My worst fears never come true. That's why I always voice them out loud. An old boyfriend once told me I was the most conceited person on earth because I immediately assumed people were dead if they were five minutes late arriving to my home. He said it was as if I thought only death could keep people from keeping their appointments with me, but I actually do it to protect them from death. As long as I expect it, they won't die.

Hi, CR. Can't wait to see baby lamb pictures!

Debra, it's nice seeing your roses in bloom. Do you cut them back, or let them just keep going as long as they've got buds?

Going back a couple of pages to the discussion about Magnolias, I thought I'd throw out my 2 cents. I grow a nice smaller one called 'Black Tulip'... Not to be confused with Magnolia nigrens, aka the black tulip. I think it's only supposed to get 15-20 feet. It's a prolific bloomer of chalice shaped very dark violet flowers. A couple of beautiful ones growing down the street from me are 'Diva' and Vulcan. Diva has huge pink flowers and is one of my gavorites.

Sherry, usually the Roses are frozen up by the third week of December so cutting back has never been a question before. Been letting these go because it is so much fun to have Roses this time of year, plus I cut them all back hard about the third week of February, anyway.

It killed me to cut back some of mine, but I've got too much to prune to wait. Somewhere along the line, I read, or was told that the roses needed a period of dormancy.. Even if forced by pruning. I think it's going to be an early spring here...

Here, too, I think. Been pondering that dormancy question, too. Interested to see how the continued mild weather affects my Daylilies and Iris.

I think the only time that any of my roses go dormant is during the heat and drought of summer. They are blooming enthusiastically now. We have had no winter, and I can't stand the thought of cutting them back when they are trying so hard to please me.

Henhouse said:It killed me to cut back some of mine, but I've got too much to prune to wait. Somewhere along the line, I read, or was told that the roses needed a period of dormancy.. Even if forced by pruning. I think it's going to be an early spring here...

Sherry ... that was the common belief when I lived in San Diego, but since then, I've decided to let the plants tell me what they want.

I think that theory may have come about because a lot of rose shows are in the spring and exhibitors found that they had a stronger spring flush, if they let the roses rest for a few weeks/months. I don't think it applies so much to those of us who grow roses just because we love them.

Some roses will stop blooming and form hips, but that's just the rose doing its own rose thing.

I see your point Lyn regarding shows.. But I also prune to shape and renew, especially on the HT's etc. Old roses get much less. This time if year I should be tackling weeds and other types of pruning and rejuvenating. Sometimes I envy those with gardens in the snow... I imagine them making afghans or bird houses, and doing a good deep housecleaning or organizing, ûwhile I'm knee deep in weeds with wrecked fingernails.. Anyway, I've got close to an inch of beautiful soft growth spurting out. I need to go back now that it's out, and select where the best placed and strongest shoots are. Rub off any facing in the wrong direction. I dunno... Maybe I'm too anal

Sherry ....

No you are not obsessive ... Generally, February and March are the hardest months for me. I sit there planning my pruning cuts because it is too cold or too rainy for me to be outside.

We are going through a couple of weeks of fine gardening weather. I spent four hours outside weeding, mulching and moving rocks and planning today. This is the first time I have been able to do this in February. I won't be pruning the roses. yet ... heck, they just need to be shaped. They have already been severely deer-pruned because a doe found a way to get into the garden through a breach in my deer fence. I just don't want to encourage new growth, yet, because mountain weather can be quite unpredictable.

Then there are the other garden tasks I can focus on early for once.

It will be quite interesting to see how the rose come back from the deer-prune. Of course, the doe did not know the rules of good pruning ...

With roses, there is always something new to learn. I think that is part of why I love them.

Years ago, when my daughter was still in college, I went away for a weekend with instructions to make sure the gate was closed. I'd just splurged on a 15 gal Mutabilis to match an existing one. Needless to say when I came home, it was 4" tall. This past June a doe and 2 yearlings got in and did a number on the newer row of roses I have up in the orchard. One of the yearlings (a buck) got back in a month later, and we couldn't get him out. He had to be dealt with a little more severely. One of the roses is having a hard time coming back. I'm hoping it's had all winter to store up some energy to burst forth. I got home about 2 today and had a glorious afternoon in the garden.. Loving the weather, but looking forward to more rain.

OMG ... I really feel for you Sherry.

You would cry if you saw my roses. I am going to have to feed them differently this spring because they lost so much wood. Also, I am seeing more cane damage due to the cold we have up here.

I think all but two will come back just fine because they have good root systems. They just don't have enough wood to store any energy, so they will need help this spring. The two roses in question were own root roses that should have been budded and were already struggling. I may just replace them.

We are having unusually warm day and night temps, so I've been outside working in the afternoons when it finally warms up. It's bliss to see the sun again ...

Lyn, I hope your roses come back ok.. I'm trying alfafa for the first time this year.. a 50 # sack is much cheaper than fertilizer, and seems to go a long ways.. I have so much garden that I usually don't fertilize much.. but things really need a boost after the years of drought. I'm not sure if the clematis made it through.. They were looking pretty fried by the end of summer.

Often winter cold kills the canes here and typically they grow back vigorously in spring. Typically it is right at the tail end of winter when the canes darken and shrivel. I'm curious if the food stored in the wood helps sustain the plant until that happens?

Henhouse said:Lyn, I hope your roses come back ok.. I'm trying alfafa for the first time this year.. a 50 # sack is much cheaper than fertilizer, and seems to go a long ways.. I have so much garden that I usually don't fertilize much.. but things really need a boost after the years of drought. I'm not sure if the clematis made it through.. They were looking pretty fried by the end of summer.

Sherry ... I am just concerned about a couple of the roses. I'll use calcium-nitrate on them near the end of March, which is a little earlier than I usually prune the roses. It's cheap, too ...

My soil has improved a lot since I started the garden, but it is still not fertile enough for the roses.

The feed store used to let me sweep out the hay stall before they stored a new shipment of hay. I got all of the fine alfalfa dust that came off of the bales of hay and fell through the pallets. After a couple of times, they just cleaned it up for me and called me to come and pick it up. It really helped the soil. The roses loved it.

Now, there are new owners and they won't allow me to even do my own gleaning. Oh, well.

I do have some alfalfa pellets, but the last time I used them, even tho' I put them under the mulch, I had far more critters in the garden. The calcium-nitrate is still organic, but doesn't draw the critters ...

I've been wanting to grow clematis, but I garden in heat zone 8 at a higher elevation with no shade. So, even tho' I have a couple on my wish list, I held off during the drought. If they are frying for you, they may not do well up here.

I've been away a few days. Work is a 4 letter word that gets in the way sometimes.

Zuzu, I am so sorry to hear of your injury, and so glad to hear that you are now on the mend..and yes, long pants might be what is needed. When I moved here 10 years ago, I found that was the only way to do it. There are way too many blackberry brambles, smilax, stinging nettle and other things that can do harm to your bare skin (not that I ever gardened in a dress anyways..I come from a time when they dropped the dresses dress code my senior year in HS)

I am luckily relatively healthy and yet aging has given me very thin skin so am always cutting myself from gardening, dog and cats nails etc. Again luckily, my immune system works very well. And now back to roses..................

I just realized today is February 12th. Down here the key date for fertilizing roses is Valentines Day. I don't look for a bouquet delivered to my door, nor a box of chocolates to indulge in. I look to find where the devil I put my rose fertilizer and good weather to get out to do it. I m trying to get a young teen over here this weekend to help with some more winter clean up and fertilizing.

I have a bucket of alfalfa pellets in the "gazebo". I'll need to get out to soak some in a bucket of water to make alfalfa tea. If I try to just put them in the ground, the fox squirrels will come and dig them up. If I do that, I will have to fill his feeder to satisfy him. I wonder if he remembers where that is?

When, please should I do the major pruning of the roses? Now?

Molly, I believe this is about the right time for pruning in your zone- I've been seeing posts from other warm zone folks lately talking about doing their pruning this month. If it's time to fertilize, I'd say go ahead and prune.

Thanks Neal, the kid is due here around noon and I'll be ready to put him to work. Just have to make list so I won't forget anything.